Signed by Governor Jan Brewer

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that expands parental consent requirements, including, but not limited to, requiring parental consent for medical prescriptions, mental health screenings, mental health treatments, and sex education curricula.

Highlights:

• Prohibits health professionals from writing a prescription order for an individual under 18 years of age unless any of the following applies (Sec. 3):
• The health professional has secured the written consent of at least 1 of the minor's parents or legal guardians, unless a parent or legal guardian does not have the right to consent due to a court order;
• The health professional has secured verbal consent in person or through telemedicine from at least 1 of the minor's parents or legal guardians, unless the parent does not have the right to consent due to a court order;
• The minor is legally emancipated; or
• The health professional is acting pursuant to a court order.

• Exempts health professionals from the aforementioned parental consent requirement if he or she has determined that a medical emergency exists and that it is necessary to issue a prescription order or administer a drug for the treatment of serious disease or injury or drug abuse, or to save the life of the patient (Sec. 3).

• Classifies a violation of the aforementioned parental consent requirement as unprofessional conduct (Sec. 3).

• Prohibits individuals, corporations, associations, organizations, or state-sponsored institutions, or any individual employed by such entities, from producing, soliciting to perform, arranging for the performance of, or performing a mental health screening or mental health treatment on a minor without first obtaining the written consent of a parent or legal guardian, or obtaining the consent through telemedicine (Sec. 3).

• Exempts individuals, corporations, associations, organizations, or state-sponsored institutions, or any individual employed by such entities, from the aforementioned parental consent requirement if he or she has determined that a medical emergency exists and that it is necessary to provide mental health treatment to prevent serious injury or save the life of the minor (Sec. 3).

• Classifies a violation of the aforementioned parental consent requirement as a class 1 misdemeanor (Sec. 3).

• Requires school districts that offer sex education curricula to establish policies that prohibit a school from providing sex education instruction to a pupil unless the pupil's parent provides written permission for the child to participate in the sex education curricula (Sec. 2).

• Requires school districts to establish policies that allow parents to learn about the nature and purpose of clubs and activities that are part of the school curriculum, extracurricular clubs, and activities that have been approved by the school (Sec. 2).

• Specifies that all parental rights are reserved to a parent of a minor without obstruction or interference from the state or any other governmental entity, including, but not limited to, the following (Sec. 1):
• The right to make health care decisions for the minor;
• The right to access and review all medical records of the minor, unless otherwise prohibited by law or the parent is the subject of an investigation of a crime committed against the minor and a law enforcement officer requests that the information not be released;
• The right to consent in writing before the state or any of it's political subdivisions makes a video or voice recording of the minor, unless it's part of a court proceeding, during a forensic interview in a criminal or child protective services investigation, or to be used for one of the following:
• Safety demonstrations;
• Legitimate academic or extracurricular activities;
• Regular classroom instructions;
• Security or surveillance of buildings or grounds; and
• Photo identification cards;

• The right to be notified promptly if an employee of the state or any other government entity suspects that a criminal offense has been committed against the minor; and

• The right to obtain information about child protective services investigation involving the parent.

Full Bill Text